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Since I used to work in the crowd management industry (Contemporary Services/Seattle), I always look out for the behind the scenes action at concerts and other events I find myself at. This Universal/HOB venue south of San Diego is clean, well run, easy to get in and out of. I would say it is one of the nicest venues I have been at, and I have been at a lot! The gates opened promptly 90 minutes before showtime, and the internal security staff perfomed a full and effective patdown and bag search on attendees with backup from a friendly San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Inside the show, I did not see one case of anyone acting foolish, overly drunk, or anyone ejected for that matter. That surprised me.

If I were to comment on one thing, it was the amount of smoking once the DMB took the stage. Yes, even in smoke-free California (illegal to smoke in public buildings, stadiums, etc), people will light up their joints, but it seems like nearly everyone around me was busy lighting their joints, pipes, etc. Of one particularly funny scene taking part in the row in front of me, a college age girl spent about 10 minutes trying to light something. So, of course, she turned to her mom and aunt to light it up for her, which they promptly did. I turned to my guest from Seattle and said, "Now you know why California is in so much trouble!"